Serendipity
by Angellwriter
Summary: Finally the war is over, Madara is dead and Sasuke and Sakura are finally working things out...only to be ripped apart and scattered in different dimensions. Now they must fight their way across multiple realities to reunite and return home. Collabaration with Griffindork93. Sasuke's POV.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Naruto, I am also told that Griffindork93 doesn't either.**

**Hey everyone. This is mine and my Eternal Rivals', Griffindork93, collabaration story. To mark out very happy one year rivalversary. Make sure to check her side out too because while I'm doing mine in Sasuke's point of view, she's doing hers in Sakura's. Why would you want to do that. Oh, because we have split the story in half, so if you want the whole story you must read both. We are so smart.**

**Also, Some things that you may need to know. This is set about a year or two after the war with Madara. Sasuke and Sakura will be traveling through a number of different Alternate Universes, one for each chapter, except the first, this one, which they are in their Universe. But after that each chapter will be set in a different AU.**

**Are you confused? Yes? Good. On with the story.**

* * *

Sasuke had returned to Konoha after the war was won. He'd repented and switched sides and was a big part in winning the war. In fact, it was him and Naruto who had delivered the final blow.

This fact, however, seemed not to change much of his past actions. As soon as he stepped foot into Konoha again, he was on probation. Well, not _completely_ obvious, Sasuke knew that his acceptance into ANBU, the most powerful and trusted ninja. Was not because they actually _trusted_ him.

Being a normal ANBU member meant staying in the ANBU barracks, where you got no privacy and was constantly watched. Only ANBU captains got to live outside the barracks, something, he was sure, he wouldn't be until Naruto made Hokage.

He scoffed at how obvious they were, he was never even sent on missions alone, it didn't matter that most ANBU took the lower ranking missions alone, or that Konoha's forces were cut in half by the war. He was always sent with a team of at least 3 others who cared more about watching their backs from him then actual enemies.

But then again it wasn't all bad. Living in the barracks meant not having to go back to the Uchiha grounds. Sure, everything was rebuilt and new, but the very grounds themselves held memories that he was just not ready to face yet.

So he kept his mind busy, he went on missions, he lived in the barracks, he trained and he spent time with his old team. Well, with most of his old team.

Sakura was avoiding him. It started as soon as they returned. She had smiled at him and welcomed him home softly before running away and hiding herself in the hospital. At first he thought nothing of it, it had been just after the war and there were so many people injured and dying, so many people that needed her. She was the Head Medic after all. It was after a few weeks that he realised that she was using it as an excuse to avoid him.

Sakura had finally found time, in her busy schedule to have lunch with Naruto at Ichiraku's. Sasuke had just gotten back from a mission and met Naruto on his way back to the barracks. Naruto had invited Sasuke, Sasuke had accepted and said he'd meet them there after he had changed out of his ANBU gear.

A part of Sasuke was excited. He'd realised that he liked Sakura a while ago, before he left if he was being completely honest. Yes, even when she was weak and annoying. Sasuke had thought that it went away while he was with Orochimaru. But when she tried to kill him, even as half-hearted as it was, Sasuke had gotten so mad. He had kept that part of him, as little as it was, that liked her and she tried to kill him, so at the time Sasuke did the most logical thing. He tried to kill her back, and his attempt was not half-hearted at all.

He felt very bad about that now and wanted to say he was sorry, but it never came up and he wasn't sure how to bring it up.

And when they were fighting, side by side, Sasuke got to see just how strong she was, how she moved mountains with a touch, how she laid waste to armies with a single punch, then turned around and healed everyone who was at deaths door.

His feelings grew and Sasuke found himself totally entranced with her. Every time she was in a room he could not keep his eyes away from her, he could not stop his ears from listening when she talked and couldn't help taking a deeper breath when she was closer.

So it didn't take him long at all to realise that she was avoiding him. That day, went he had interrupted Naruto and her lunch, she had smiled a fake smile, she had nodded in greeting, then promptly told Naruto that Sasuke was here to have lunch with him and that she had to get back to the hospital.

And it happened every time they were in the same room, she would make an excuse and leave. It was a far cry from when Sasuke had left, and she had even changed from when they shared the battlefield.

Embarrassingly, he'd even went out of his way to see her. Sasuke had gotten himself injured a few times just to see her. His plan, however, was very flawed because as soon as he went to the hospital with a giant gash across his chest. Sasuke realised that a post war hospital was very busy. It was crazy there, and Sasuke didn't get to pick his doctor. They sent him to a nurse who only stopped the blood flow and then bandaged him up before the nurse left in a hurry to see the next person on his list. At least the nurse was male and didn't make any attempts to seduce him. Sasuke also went out with all their old classmates every time they did, hoping that she would be there. She never was, much to his disappointment.

Sasuke had done many things that would be considered wrong because of his feelings for Sakura. Like there was one time, a few months ago, that Sakura was dating Kiba. Sasuke had a little 'talk' with Kiba and made him realise that they were better off friends and he, along with his mutt, was better with their heads attached to their bodies. Yes Sasuke had threatened his dog too.

It was a good thing they were broken up though, if a few bruises, broken appendages and a couple threats caused him to back off. Sakura needed someone as strong as her, to stand beside her and protect her blind spots. Sasuke had done so a lot of times.

When we were genin and she couldn't protect herself, Sasuke did so and when Sasuke had rejoined them on the battle field he learnt when to charge ahead of her and when to pull back. Kiba, on the other hand, only ever looked after Akamaru and Sasuke believed, that if Akamaru was a woman, Kiba would have already married his furry little friend and they would have had a litter or two together.

Sakura should never come second to a dog. Plus Kiba was too much like Naruto.

Still, it got harder and harder to run into Sakura, he'd even visited Juugo a few times, who was under Sakura's care, even though he knew that he'd often run into Karin there. But Sakura's visits to Juugo were very irregular and she only over saw the research to cure him along with Tsunade's other apprentice, Shizune.

Team Taka had followed Sasuke to Konoha after the war, Juugo wanted to be treated, cured and if not he wanted to stay by Sasuke's side so that Sasuke could protect others from him. Karin, still obsessed with him and not minding Konoha at all, even after they imprisoned her, followed too. Suigetsu had followed and stayed for a little while, but then he left to pursue the other swords, now having two, Zabuza's and Kisame's.

Sasuke rarely saw them, selfishly, he wanted them all to leave, their presence reminded him of all the horrible things he'd done on his quest for vengeance. A path he wanted to leave behind and forget. Go back to team seven, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura, if only she would talk to him. Sasuke was getting more and more annoyed with her ability to evade him, it was like she made it her mission to annoy him with her silence.

But still, life went on and Sasuke was trying to improve his relations with the village elders and the Hokage herself. He was glad that the two previous elders died in the war because Sasuke did not think he could take orders from them.

It was clear that they didn't trust him very much and he knew that he'd never be a captain without their trust. And there were many reasons he wanted to be an ANBU captain. Sure he entertained the thought of being Hokage during the war, but he believed that taking that away from Naruto was too mean after everything else he'd been through for Sasuke.

No, he wanted to be an ANBU captain like Itachi, he wanted to lead, because he was never really good at following anyone, except Naruto strangely. And because, though for now he didn't want to leave the safety of the barracks, he could not raise a family there.

"Teme." He turned to see Naruto running onto the team seven training ground, which he like to use instead of the ANBU ones, and towards him. He had a large grin on his face and he was holding two scrolls under each arm. "It's a good thing I found you. I need you to help me with that new seal I'm working on."

"Hn." Sasuke replied turning away, he wasn't interested in helping the dobe out with seals. He had no experience anyway, Sasuke knew nothing about Fuuinjutsu, which was probably the only thing that Naruto ever completely outclassed him on. In fact the only Fuuinjutsu seal he was familiar with was the one on an explosive tag. And Sasuke didn't want to sit around so that Naruto could sprout off things that made Sasuke feel as if they had switched brains.

"Oh come on teme. You so owe me for not telling Sakura-chan that you scare off all the guys that want to date her." Naruto smirked winingly at his best friend.

Sasuke glared in return, Naruto did the same thing and, he suspected, that Kakashi also did this to all the old ninja that tried their luck with the pinkette.

"Just suck it up teme." Naruto said giving him a pat on his back then unrolling the two long scrolls and checked them over. He read each one over carefully, a look of concentration on his face that, in Sasuke's opinion, did not match his features.

Sasuke glanced at the scrolls and shook his head, nope, he still had no clue what they said, were they even Kanji characters? These things went completely over his head, way up into the clouds and they must have hit Naruto who inhaled it like a bowl of steaming hot ramen.

"Okay, I have to write the activation seal on this one." Naruto muttered to himself pulling out a brush. Sasuke peered over Naruto's shoulder to watch him write the 'activation seal' which he did so quickly and expertly.

Naruto then laid down his brush and raised his eyes, Sasuke was still gazing at the last character he'd written. It was artfully done and looked like it would have taken longer than the five seconds that Naruto had done it in. When Naruto's voice made Sasuke raise his eyes.

"There you are, Sakura-chan!"

I looked up to see Sakura was, in fact, standing there, looking slightly uncomfortable or maybe just on edge.

"Hey, Naruto," she greeted, before tilting her head, a motion that he often got from her and then said his name in greetings too. "Sasuke."

Sasuke stared at her. That was another change, whenever Sakura did talk about him or say his name, it was now Sasuke. Just Sasuke, and he missed it when she would call him Sasuke-kun. Even on the battlefield she called him Sasuke-kun, even when they were short on time and just saying 'Sasuke', would save a valuble second.

That stopped as soon as they entered the gates of Konoha. He barely registered grunting in reply.

Naruto picked up the brush again and went over the last few characters again and Sasuke knew what he was trying to do. He was giving them time to talk, but that wouldn't happen, Sasuke had never been much of a talker and, these days, when it came to Sasuke, neither was Sakura.

Still, Sasuke thought they were making progress already, she was standing next to him, she was stiff and on guard, but she stood next to him. This was the closest they'd been to one another since they got back to Konoha.

They had stood in silence, just watching Naruto rewrite his seal, which Sasuke was sure Sakura didn't notice as Naruto was hiding the lower seals very well. In fact, the only reason Sasuke was aware was because he'd been here when Naruto unrolled the scrolls and he'd seen that it was already complete apart from the 'activation seal' which Naruto had done just before Sakura arrived.

After a few moments Sakura nudged Naruto and questioned him. "So, what's this one for?"

Naruto grinned stupidly making me wonder if this was the same person who wrote these amazingly intricate seals and spoke. "You see this?" He pointed to a one of the symbols. "This seal is supposed to connect one's soul and mind. Then this one here," Naruto pointed to another symbol, with his foot, "allows for you to transfer your consciousness to another person."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, is that why he wanted him to help, why Naruto had invited Sakura, were they...test dummies?

"That sounds like the Yamanaka's clan jutsu." Sakura said raising her eyebrows.

"Well, yes. That's where I got the idea." Naruto shrugged, uncaring. "This is just a prototype. I need the base to work before I can modify it. Which is why I needed you two to be my guinea pigs!"

Sasuke grunted, he knew it, he should have just left when he had the chance, now he had to endure Naruto's idiotic dance moves and being a guinea pig.

"If there are no further protests." Naruto said, not giving anyone a chance to protest, and then directed them to each stand in the circle of one scroll. When they were in position, he ran through a long sequence of hand signs.

Sasuke slumped over, hands in his pocket, fighting his anger. Blackmailed and used as a test dummy by the dobe, this was starting to look like a horrible day. He felt eyes on him and turned quickly towards the only other person there.

Sasuke and Sakura locked eyes for a second before they broke contact as Naruto finished his hand seals and slammed his hands down onto the seals at the corner of each scroll.

It was silent for a minute, all of them waiting for something, anything really, to happen. And when nothing did Sasuke was about to scoff and throw an insult at Naruto, until the ink began to glow.

It's glow got brighter and brighter very quickly, almost instantly if Sasuke's Sharingan hadn't instinctively activated. His eyes flickered over to Sakura who had her eyes shielded and though he, too, wanted to close or block his eyes, he reframed from doing so.

Then the light was gone and they were standing in a dank and dirty chamber, one Sasuke recognised as the mindscape of Naruto. Looking over towards the caged nine-tailed Bijuu only confirmed what he already knew.

His eyes then landed on Sakura, who was frighteningly moving away from the caged animal. He rolled his eyes, it was caged and it was good now, we would not have one the war without it helping Naruto so much. But still, he found himself taking a step towards her.

"Alright! It worked!" Naruto cheered.

Sasuke watched as Sakura jumped at the sound of Naruto's voice and watched from the corner of his eye as the fox lifted his head, one red eye opening to stare her down, he probably sensed her fear.

"You mean you meant to do this? Why didn't you say so? I almost had a heart attack, you idiot!" She screeched and lashed out at Naruto to hide her fear.

"Sakura-chan," he whined, furiously rubbing the already forming lump on his head.

"Tch. Dobe." Sasuke muttered to myself. We were inside his mind, how could she have hurt him?

Then again, why _were_ we in his mind? I was getting more and more annoyed with the fact that Naruto had not explained anything before dragging us into the depths of his mind. He'd been here before, sure, but why in the world would Naruto bring Sakura. Sasuke stared at her as if the answer was written on her face and if he looked away he might miss their appearance.

What was the dobe's reason? Sasuke couldn't understand the reason for sealing them inside his mind. Though most of his attention was on Sakura, he still watched from the corner of his eye, as Naruto approached the large Bijuu and pat it's paw like he was nothing but a large dog.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes at how he treated the fox.

"It was actually Kurama's idea, he finds it amusing when humans squabble over petty things." The blonde said before he caught the look on Sakura's face and quickly added. "His words not mine."

"Originally," He continued when Sakura's face calmed slightly. "I was going to have you guys go into the other person's mind. That way you could really know what they were thinking and feeling."

"You were going to have us switch bodies?" Sakura sounded scandalized.

Sasukes eyes widening was the only reaction he gave. Naruto was going to have them switch bodies? Sakura would have been him and he would have been her. The thought was strange and he was not sure how to take it. One thing he knew though, it was that he wouldn't want anyone else to be inside his body and there was no one's body he'd rather be inside.

He froze for a second as images that did not particularly pertain to their conversation entered his head. He was very glad that Naruto didn't go with this idea, he didn't like sharing his innermost thoughts and feelings. Sasuke didn't think he was ready for that. He was drawn back to the conversation by Naruto continuing with his explanation.

"But Kurama's idea was better. So I made it bring you here instead. Now get on with it." Naruto ordered, straightening and giving the two a 'stern' look.

Sakura just stared at Naruto, completely confused about what Naruto wanted from them. She looked at Sasuke with an expression that asked him if he knew what Naruto meant. Sasuke raised an eyebrow slightly in return, as if saying, this is Naruto, it could mean anything.

"Well," Naruto prompted impatiently when neither of them responded or acted on his demand. "Aren't you two going to say something? Clear the air? You guys haven't spoken since Sasuke came back."

Light filtered and finally it made sense. For Sasuke, this wasn't the first time that Naruto prompted Sasuke to act. He'd had many, 'talks' with Sasuke about Sakura and Sasuke himself. And they all ended the same, both of them lying on their back breathing hard in the middle of a destroyed training ground.

But the truth is that, Sasuke didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say, and even if he did Sakura never gave him the chance.

"Look, Naruto," Sakura spoke softly, as if speaking to a child who just didn't get something even though it had been explained to them multiple times. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but this really isn't necessary. Sasuke and I . . ." She trailed off, as if looking for the best words to say. "We just don't get along. He's an uncaring bastard and I'm too emotional. We're better off being just teammates."

Sakura was so worried about the wounded and hurt look on Naruto's face that she completely missed the one on Sasuke's. Sasuke was an uncaring bastard? Better off being just teammates?

Sasuke cared, he cared a lot, but he also had been hurt a lot and he hid his emotions from the world. But Sasuke thought that Sakura knew that. Sasuke, as silly as it sounded, thought that, even after all these years and even after how close he was with Naruto, that Sakura knew him the best. He'd thought that she almost always did.

When he was younger, right after his family died there was a pink haired girl that just wouldn't leave him alone. He was also never able to think all those dark depressing thoughts with her around, mostly because her annoying voice drove every thought, except ones that were of him viciously murdering her, away. She was always there with hearts in her eyes and he never felt alone, not even when that was all he wanted to be.

Hell, Sasuke thought, she even knew when he was going to leave. Sasuke didn't know how, not even to this day, he had only seen her once that day but still. She had been waiting on that bench for him.

And better off being just teammates? When had team seven ever been '_just teammates'_? Team seven had always been friends, family..._home_. Even when Sasuke was with Orochimaru he would dream of his home.

The hurt gave way for anger. Sakura was too emotional? He internally scoffed. If she was so emotional, why was she able to say such things in front of him and feel nothing? Standing there and trying to make Naruto feel better when she had insulted Sasuke so badly. Was this her payback for all those years ago when he used to call her weak and annoying?

His anger was at boiling point and he struggled to push it away. But when she looked at him for help, as if she'd never insulted him or if the only person's feelings that mattered there was Naruto's. He snapped and took a step forward, Sakura took one backwards but Sasuke just kept on moving forward until he was standing in front of her. He was so close that he could see a small pink beauty mark on her left eyelid as she rapidly blinked at him.

Then, before she could move, before she could even speak, Sasuke hand slipped behind her head and pulled her face forward, then, he was kissing her.

He pressed his lips hungrily into hers, trying to put his point across, trying to make her understand with actions rather than words. Because Naruto was the one that talked about things, Sasuke was more of the one who took action. He tried to express just how much he felt, how much these feeling burned inside of him and made him both sure and very uncertain.

His mouth was demanding against hers, telling her that he was claiming her, that she was only his. In contrast, his other had, the one that was not pulling her towards him, was stroking her hair gently, as lightly as a feather. It asked softly to take him, to care for him, to love him. He was sure, with as lightly he touched her hair, that this was a touch that went unnoticed.

And though this was Sasuke's first kiss, the one with Naruto didn't count, in fact, it didn't happen. Sasuke knew that this was the best kiss two people could ever share. And when Sasuke drew back, he smirked at her. She looked beautiful, her hair was slightly mused, her lips that were usually pink where now red as a delicious tomato, her emerald eyes were glassy and dazed and she wore a charming blush.

"Wha. . . what was that for?" She asked, her voice was husky in the most tantalizing way.

And it was the perfect moment, however, he should probably have anticipated her next move before he spoke. "You're annoying. A ninja shouldn't have to ask."

The change was instant, she looked mad, no, that would be putting it mildly, she look furious, she had dropped out of bliss straight into a dark anger. So when her fist made impact with his eye, it was not all that surprising. But knowing it was coming didn't make it any less painful, and to make it worst he was sure he heard the _caged_ Kyuubi _laughing_ at him.

"See Naruto! That right there is why I could never get along with him." Sasuke heard Sakura shout. "He's always ridiculing me and calling me annoying."

Sasuke almost screamed at her that he meant it as an affectionate term. He'd hoped that, because she was so smart, she would know that every time he called her annoying, even then. _That_ was what he wanted to do.

"Look, uh, this is rather personal." I heard Naruto say as I looked back at them, the pain finally dulling. I saw Naruto looking uncomfortable and Sakura looking furious. "Kurama may like this stuff but I don't. I'm going to let you guys work this out. Kurama will let you out of the seal when you've made up."

Then he was gone and there was only the dying sounds of the fox demons laughter that echoed off the cold wall.

He stared at her as she started at the place Naruto just was. Did she really not know? Was she really so completely dense to what he felt for her? Or did she simply not feel the same. The last thought made him stiffen, as if the thought had never before occurred to him, and, in truth, it hadn't. He'd always believed that she loved him. From the moment the words had left her mouth when they were thirteen.

Could her feelings for him have changed?

Sakura turned to him, wide eyed and looked at for a second before speaking. "Look, you must want not to be doing this as much as I do. What do you say we pretend to be friends around Naruto and go back to our separate lives?"

Sasuke's jaw locked together for a moment before he firmly answered. "No."

Sakura threw her arms in the air and faced away from him. "Then what do you want?" she asked, evidently, frustrated.

Sasuke's chest burned. His suppressed emotions had built up to the point that they felt as were going to explode. He had missed her, he really did, and he was sick to death of her evading and avoiding him. So when he opened his mouth, words rushed out that he'd never expressed to anyone.

"I want to know what happened to the Sakura that didn't hesitate to throw herself into a fight where her friends were concerned. I want the Sakura that's strong enough to crack mountains. I want the Sakura that fought when all hope seemed lost. I want the Sakura that doesn't run away the second she realizes I'm in the room. I want the Sakura that didn't let her fear of the unknown, of defeat, of getting her, turn her into a coward."

Sasuke was sure that he'd never spoken so many words with so much passion and he hoped that she heard his words and the meaning behind them.

"Coward?!" Sakura screeched and Sasuke almost slumped in defeat. She hadn't heard it. "I'm not a coward. Just because I don't solve my problems like fighting like you and Naruto do doesn't make me a coward."

Sasuke scoffed, how could she be so dense? Did she really have no idea what he was talking about?

"You didn't solve your problems with me at all. You tucked your tail in and ran at the mere mention of me. You can't even bring yourself to look at me unless you're yelling at me." Sasuke spoke words of truth and that was what finally stopped Sakura.

She suddenly looked guilty and tired. And she slumped to the floor as if she could no longer hold herself up. She looked so lost, so alone, that Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and he, too, sat on the cold, wet stone floor beside her. Close enough so that if she needed him, he was there, but if she needed space, she also had that.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Sakura spoke, softer this time. "But I don't know what you want me to do. You hardly liked me when we were gennin. You tried to kill me once."

"You tried to kill me first." The words were automatic and he didn't even realise they were out until he heard her laugh bitterly. He almost sighed. It was the perfect time to apologize, something that he'd been wanting to do for a long time. But he'd gone and messed it up.

"We both know I never would have been able to go through with it." She said almost bitterly.

Sasuke was silent. It was true. He'd thought about it this morning. How he'd been angry that she'd changed, that there was a chance that the worlds she spoke before he left were a lie. "I'm sorry." Sasuke whispered watching as she twisted to look at him.

After a few seconds of staring she smiled and spoke. "Me too, Sasuke. Me too."

Sasuke got to his feet, water splashing all around him before turning to Sakura with her hand outstretched. She took a long, hard look at his face as if searching for something, before gently placing her hand in his.

Sasuke smoothly helped her stand and felt his heart stutter slightly when she did not immediately remove her hand. Maybe she had gotten it. Maybe she knew and she also felt the same.

"Friends?" His heart fell deep into his stomach and he felt an almost crushing disappointment. She still had no clue.

"Ah." He replied numbly.

"Are you hairless monkeys done? That wasn't nearly as entertaining as the brat promised it would be." The Kyuubi said in a drawl, interrupting their _friendly _moment.

Friends? Really? Sasuke was so engrossed with his thoughts that at first, he didn't notice the ominous bubbling chakra that was making it's way towards the closest thing to them. Sakura. And when he did notice, it was already too late.

The chakra had wound its way around Sakura and with a violent tug, it ripped her away from him. Then it was like she was flung backwards, into the orange chakra.

"SAKURA." Sasuke screamed, lunging after her, but it was too late. She had completely disappeared, along with the chakra and he fell into a puddle as hurriedly ran forward. Almost desperately he splashed around in the water, trying to find out where she had gone.

He heard the chuckle of the beast and it made his eyes flash red. Sasuke stood and in an instant he was in front of the bars that the Kyuubi laid behind, his Sharingan blazing.

"Where is she?" Sasuke screamed in a panicked anger. "What have you done with her?"

"I just used my chakra to activate Naruto's seal." He chuckled again. "Human emotions are very amusing."

Sasuke relaxed a little but not completely. "Activate mine." Sasuke demanded, eyes still the red of the Sharingan.

"Why not stay awhile, we could play a game." The fox grinned wolfishly.

"Activate mine." Sasuke repeated, his Sharingan eyes whirling, making Kurama sigh.

"Kit's right. You're a teme."

And before Sasuke could say another word Kurama's chakra had engulfed him, burning his left arm and, in a blaze or orange chakra, he, too, left Naruto's mind.


	2. Chapter 1 AU 59

**AU Number:** 59

**AU Summary:** It took Sasuke a while to realize that something was wrong. Small things, were different but they were everywhere, in everyone. He wouldn't be a very good ninja if he were to ignore them but being trapped in this strange place wasn't the biggest of his problems he soon discovers after a run in with a much more ruthless Itachi.

**AU Genre: **Angst, Mystery, Tragedy, slight Friendship.

**AU Rating:** M for dark concepts such as, vivid torture and death. But seriously, super dark, I mean, I think I could be committed for writing this.

* * *

I woke with a start, staring into the darkness. My Sharingan blazed to life and I was filled with an overwhelming sense of panic when I realized that Sakura was not there. I stared at the familiar surroundings of the ANBU barracks, my panic easing slightly. I was in the safety of the village, the war was over, Sakura was probably fine and just went back to the hospital.

My left arm hurt, no, it ached, right down into the bone, throbbing in a strange way. It was as if the pain from the Kyuubi's chakra had burnt it, maybe it had and Sakura had healed it. I relaxed even more at this thought, if Sakura were to have healed me, that could only mean that she's fine.

Though I knew that Sakura had problems healing burns made by the nine-tail's chakra, she had gotten the hang of it and was able to heal Naruto when it had gotten too much for him. Before the Kyuubi and him came to an understanding, of course. I'd never been burnt by the Kyuubi's chakra though, so I didn't know what it felt like, but that was the only logical reason for the pain in my arm. Still, it didn't explain why it hurt me physically. Naruto had said that he dragged our consciousness into his mind, not our bodies. I didn't know what to think. I didn't understand enough of seals to tell whether he was lying or not. The pain also could have been a side effect. It was not unheard of for illusionary wounds to manifest physically on a person if they believed in their existence strongly enough.

I stood off the bed to stretch, cracking all my bones in the process. I lowered my arms, wondering how I was in the barracks; Sakura and Naruto weren't ANBU and, therefore, weren't permitted to enter. Then again, I argued to myself, Naruto was the number one candidate to become Hokage, it's reasonable that they would let him in. It was just plain idiotic to deny someone who was going to be your superior, someone who would distribute funding to your devision and will have not only the choice in your missions, but also decides the amount you get paid for them.

I walked to the bathroom, still feeling the sweat of my training session clinging to me. I needed a shower and something to eat. I also needed to have a little chat to Naruto about what he did to me and Sakura.

Thinking about it now, I wasn't sure whether Naruto did more harm or more good. Sure, Sakura and I were now on speaking terms and we were friends. On the other hand, we were only friends, and I wanted to be so much more.

Without further prompt my thoughts drifted back to the kiss we shared in the dank chamber of Naruto's mind. I would picture it so clearly, the warmth of her lips, the feeling of her body flush against mine. It was completely consuming; it gave me the most intoxicating rush. Better then the one I felt when I'd finally master a jutsu or when I'd go to bed at night, muscles sore from training but knowing that I would be stronger the next day. Even more thrilling then the high I felt in battle, where the stakes were high, where I could die with one mis-step but I still fought on because I was fight for something I believed in.

I'd only felt it once and already I wanted it again, I wanted to kiss her, hold her tight, I wanted her to be mine. I was addicted to her and I feared that if I pushed her for more, I'd lose her entirely.

Was it worth the risk? It was the kind of all or nothing bet that I had taken when I had left the village in pursuit of my revenge. Even then, it had taken me a long time to come to the decision I had and there were times where I had regretted it. The risk then had been my life, the odds were more stacked in favor of me dying in some ways but I had chanced it and left for a chance to have my vengeance. This, though, was not something that I was willing to risk, something, even friendship, with Sakura was better then being nothing to her.

I'd gotten together some clothes as I had been lost in my musing and realized I was in the shower already. The water was as cold as ice. ANBU didn't havecomforts like warm showers or baths of any kind. They saw that a shower as a means to clean ones self and it was just another task that was a part of sustaining one's body, like eating. And one should not take pleasure in them.

I shook my head slightly, water running through my hair and down my back, icy cold and causing slight goose bumps to rise all over my body. It was slightly sickening to see how they tried to strip us of all of our emotions, turn us into nothing but obeying drones, much like the white Zetsu's that Madara used in thewar.

For a lot, it didn't work. They cracked and ended up completely useless, not only unable to continue on as ANBU, but also becoming some sick and twisted person who enjoyed the horrible things that they did under orders. Or completely distraught and suicidal, drove over the edge by guilt because of the morals they still possessed.

There were only a few who turned out like that though; they often died durring missions, completely set on the success of the mission and disregardedtheir own lives and the lives of their team. It was a waste, if there were too many of those kind, the ANBU ranks would be extremely thin.

Then again, I thought, it wasn't like there were any ANBU captains that fit the ANBU stereotype. It was a good thing seeing that ANBU captains were the one that controlled ninja assigned to that mission and decided when to fight to the death or when to fall back and retreat.

The cold water suddenly turned off, signaling that it had been on for five minutes, which was more than enough time to shower in the opinion of the head of ANBU. I got out and dried myself with a scratchy, thintowel, and got dressed.

I had just finished, contemplating if it was too soon to go to the hospital to see Sakura, when an ANBU messenger bursted into the shared shower and informed me that I had a mission. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't be going to the hospital to see her today.

* * *

It had been four weeks since I had been able to meet with Sakura or Naruto. I was constantly on missions now, not even having time to stop in Konoha for a hot meal, let alone see my teammates and weird things were happening to me.

Firstly was my reflexes, which were always lightening fast, were considerably slower. Not all my reflexes, thankfully, if that were the case I may have been dead, just my footwork. I was moving slower and favoring my right leg, something that I'd never had a problem with, besides the fact that I had trained hard to not favor either. Besides I was originally left handed, or rather, left legged, so it was strange.

In fact, it was as if it was an old injury that I had sustained, something that had not healed properly or incorrectly and was never the same again. But that couldn't be it, the injury would have had to be years old for it to get as bad as me having to favor a leg. It was strange enough to worry me, but what could I do, it wasn't like I could go to the hospital, with how very little time I had between missions. Also, the hospital was still very busy so my leg went on unchecked and I learnt to cover my weakness.

Then there were these strange dreams I kept having. All featured myself, as a child, some things just as they had happened, me sitting down to dinner with my family, being taught jutsu's from my otou-san or pestering Itachi to train with me.

Others, though, were slightly different, Kaa-san, instead of greeting me with a warm smile after school and a snack on the table where we would sit down and I'd tell her about my day, greeted me with a cool indifference, a nod to go upstairs to complete my homework. In some dreams, she acted more like the rest of the Uchiha, even around her children. Still, I got the sense that, even if she was colder, I knew this dream version of my Okaa-san loved me, it would show when I was sick or injured. She turned kinder and her cool face melted into the mother I knew from my memories. Those were the only times she would say she loved me or Itachi.

Otou-sama was different too, he lacked the strong will I remember him having in life. In my dreams, he was not a natural born leader and he commanded very little respect from the other Uchiha. I noticed that, though he was the head of the Uchiha clan, it was only in name and the clan was controlled by kaa-san and the Elders. That was not to say that Otou-sama was weak in my dreams. No, he was still an amazing ninja, his skill not compared by any other and, if possible, his fire ball ninjutsu's were even greater and more terrifying. He just lacked political and charismatic charm that he had in life.

And Itachi, even Itachi was different in my dreams. He seemed so lost in the darkness, so bleak and stripped of goodness. So very much like me, like how I was when I was with Orochimaru or during the war. At first, I thought that I was merely seeing my memories of him in a different light, that now, older, darker and more worldly, I saw the truth that I missed the first time I saw these scenes through young, innocent and naive eyes. Soon I realized that this was not the case, because Itachi, in my dream world, was nothing like Itachi in life. In life, Itachi would smile at me as I asked to train then lightly refuse, promising to train later. Dream Itachi would coldly refuse and give a stinging comment about how weak I was and how I'd only waste his time. Though in both life and dream Itachi had killed for the village, in life he would clean the blood off of himself before his family saw. In the dream he would walk through the front door during dinner, blood dripping off himself and onto the floor. Still, in life and in dream, I worshiped him.

In my dreams my family lacked something they had in life and it made my dreams dark and bleak. But I was too busy to waste thought on dreams, I had much bigger things to worry about.

Though it was not widely known, even I was not privy to the information, I had overheard two ANBU captain talking in whispers about a new criminal organization that were on the rise. It wasn't much of a surprise, though the nations were at a tentative peace, it did not mean that the missing-nin that had forsaken all ties to ninja villages were at peace with the villages now that they had all allied. Honestly, I was surprised that something like this hadn't risen up sooner.

I hadn't caught any names, nothing important at all, just that they had made a big stir in Suna and that a team of jounin had been dispatched. A move which the two ANBU captains thought would have been a mission better suited for a team of ANBU. Though they did say that one of the members was the future Hokage.

It must have been team seven then, Sakura probably stayed to take care of the hospital, but Naruto, Kakashi, Sai and even Yamato were all free for active duty and together, they made an unbeatable team. It wasn't a surprise move, sending the four of them. It was only natural, because my team was easily one of the strongest, but I found it odd that the ANBU captains thought the team lacking.

Ever since the war, ninja rank meant very little. I had seen ANBU drop like flies to enemy defeated by genin. I'd seen children throw themselves in harms way as grown men retreated. I'd seen shinobi, no matter their age, nation, gender or rank fall and rise. Hell, during the war, I was a genin and yet I was slashing down enemies that had the Kage falling.

Ever since then the village ranking system had been changed, Tsunade and Shizune worked hard to rearrange the shinobi to their proper rank. Still, she had some genin doing solo A ranks and some jounin doing D ranks. And it wasn't just about power, it was also about mental stability. Some of our forces were just too scarred from the war to continue on with taking those high rank missions. The war had turned grown men into scared children and matured children into strong warriors, it was true that the war had changed everyone.

Everything was just a mess and it would take a long while until it was right again.

* * *

I almost smiled, it had been two months since my last day off and I had finally gotten a break. Most of the missions I had been on were gathering intel on village had cropped back up, though they were being much more legal about their village happenings. We did manage to find out about a few of the experiments that were still happening in some of the bases. The eradication of those bases was the perfect mission for someone who had used to be a sound ninja.

I'd been giving the day to finish my excessive amount of paperwork. Thankfully, I'd always been good with keeping up with the annoyance. When I was on team seven, the paperwork always fell on either Sakura or me, Naruto being totally incompetent at the time and Kakashi being too lazy. Usually Sakura tried to get me to do the paperwork with her but I had always refused saying that I'd do it alone or just disappear before she asked.

I had easily gotten through the large stack in just a little over two hours and I eagerly took my first step out of the ANBU barracks unmasked and without a uniform. I had switched to the standard jounin uniform. It was funny, how I'd never even reached chunin and yet I was still allowed to walk around in a high ranking uniform. I was sure that I would have to suffer my old rank when I came back to the village, mostly because Tsunade had warned me that was most likely the case.

So when I arrived and I was given an ANBU uniform and jounin one too, I was pleasantly surprised but also very suspicious. Even now I was suspious of everything. That could have just been leftover from the war though. I was on edge all the time, I questioned everyone around me. Were they real?Were they out to kill me? Did they have an ulterior motive? Did they work for someone that wanted to harvest my organs?

It got to the point where I had to simply ignore all my suspicions outside of a mission. It wasn't the smartest or safest moves to make, even if when I had planned to destroy Konoha the only Konoha shinobi I had killed was Dazou, which no one faulted me for even if he was acting Hokage at the time. Still, there were still people in Konoha that did not like me and who knew how far their dislike had spread.

But a month of being in the village after the war I realised how tired I was. I had always been watching my back, the moment I had stepped out of Konoha to join sound in search of more power I have had to watch my back. In sound, a moment of weakness wasall anyone would need to attack. I had been attacked a few times in the first couple months. It just reinforced my belief that Konoha was holding me back and making me weak. But Konoha had always been a safe haven and I wanted it to be one again and so I ignored every instinct in me that screamed that something was wrong and let myself sink into a false security, as stupid as it was.

It felt nice though, not to be worried about anything. It was the closest to freedom off the battlefield I'd felt. I often watched the children running around;happy, content, and smiling in a way that I hadn't seen since my family had been murdered. It was as if there never was a war. Mothers talked with each other on the street, giggling to each other as their children ran around them. Fathers would chase their children, laughing as they smiled and squealed, screaming in mock fright of the 'monster' that was after them. Families sat with bentos, eating happily and without care.

I walked past the park, leaving the families to their Sunday lunch and carried on, taking in the amazing sights the village had to offer. My feet carried me around with no real destination in mind. Soon though, I found myself at a very familiar bench that was on the side of the road that lead out of the village. I sat on it, remembering the night that I had laid a pink haired girl down on it, discarding her and my heart in search of power to kill my brother.

My heart stung at the thought of the both of them. My mind had been systematically wondering to Sakura for the past weeks, reliving that kiss again and again. My mind taunting me, telling me that there would not be another, that it was the last time that I would ever kiss her. I didn't want to lose her, I had gone years without her comforting presence and to think of going through that loneliness again because I messed everything up was horrible. There were very few people who actually knew me and still cared for me, to lose even one of them, it would be a nightmare.

And Itachi, I felt like I had really disappointed him. Inmy years that I was lost to the darkness inside myself, I had gone against everything he stood for and said that I was doing it for him. I had declared war on Konoha. I had attempted to murder my comrades, the only people to care about me. I had turned into the monster that Itachi pretended to be and every time I think back on it I am disgusted with myself.

If only I hadn't been so blinded by hate, if only I had tried to talk with him. I held so many regrets about my life, I had regretted the things I had done to so many people and I wished I could change, but I didn't know where to start.

I was so deep in thought that I almost dismissed the blur of bubblegum pink that caught my eye in the distance. I had to do a double take when I saw Sakura; she looked so different that I almost dismissed her for a stranger.

It wasn't just the obvious changes like her outfit. Herred top, the medic skirt and those shorts were replaced with a very tight tracksuit. It was much like Lee's and Gai's tracksuit, only it was black. It also had gloves and the material at the base of her neck bunched together and I got the feeling was a mask like Kakashi's when pulled higher. Her hair was also pinned to her scalp, not a strand out of place in a style that looked like entirely too much effort for Sakura's usual rounds at the hospital.

The difference was also present in her walk, even from this far away I could tell that she was moved differently. Usually she had an assured, determined walk; almost a stomp but with no noise. You could tell her fighting style was hard, strong and forceful just by her walk. She moved confidently, content with herself. Now, she swayed and flowed in the most sensually graceful movements that I had ever witnessed coming from anyone, though it didn't look forced, as if she was trying too hard. It looked natural. Each step she took was light, as if she barely touched the ground, floating just above it instead of walking on it.

Instantly my Sharingan flared to life. If this was an impostor, they were doing a horrible job at acting as the person that they were pretending to be. However, my eyes told me that this was not any genjutsu, this was indeed Sakura.

I shrugged it off, guessing that Ino was the one to blame for Sakura's new training uniform and that my obsession with Sakura and my kiss had somehow messed with my perception of her. Still, I rose to follow her, I had not seen my team in a long time and I wanted to spend my day off with them.

I followed her, not quite able to catch up to her, had she been working on her speed? But she did not go far; team seven's bridge was close by, after all. I saw from a distance as Sakura met with Naruto and Kakashi, Sai and Yamato were nowhere to be again Yamato was often away, repairing villages using his wood jutsu, not just ones in the land of fire, but also the other countries. Sure, while we had tried to keep the war away from all the villages, it could not always be contained to the open fields of kumogakureand there had been a substantial amount of damage to all nations.

Sai's absence, too, could be explained by rebuilding all the destruction caused by the war, he was part of Yamato's team. Though his jutsu couldn't aid in theconstruction of buildings, his quick skills as an artist was used to paint the structures of the houses for Yamato to build. Though most Yamato built were the same, there were houses of important people that got to say how their new house would be. Not to mention the fact that Yamato had never built any kind of community building such as schools.

Of course he wouldn't be building any community buildings for the foreign villages, other villages having the layout of houses were one thing. Letting them design more important community buildings was just stupid, allied nations or not.

"Sasuke." I heard a very familiar voice call to me. I brushed off the strangeness of Naruto calling me by my name and not calling me a bastard as I approached.

"Dobe." I nodded my head to him as I got closer.

"Teme." He grinned in return and all was right again.

"Sasuke-kun." Kakashi drawled with his signature closed eye smile. "Haven't seen you in a while, I thought you forgot about us."

"Tch." I scoffed, as if they would ever let me forget them. In fact I had been thinking about them much more then I should have been given that more often then not I was on high ranking missions.

I turned to Sakura to see that she wasn't even looking at me. My heart sunk at the cold dismissal. She had not completely forgiven me as I hoped. I struggled for something to say to somehow make it better, to fix what I'd broke but I came up empty.

"Sakura." It was all I could say, my throat closed after that and no more words escaped. It was as if I had used all my words up in the dank tunnel of Naruto's mind.

Instead I turned it into a greeting with a simple nod. It seemed to surprise her for some reason. Did she think that after all that happened in Naruto's mind I would revert back to how it was before? Was it because I disappeared for so long without telling her?

She looked wary as she nodded.

Naruto suddenly had his arm around me smiling and laughing, insanely happy for some reason before inviting me to train, or as he said it, 'get your ass beat.' I agreed after a scoff and a scathing comment about him dreaming before I'd even knocked him unconscious.

The battle between me and Naruto was interesting of course. He had spent his time learning more Uzumaki jutsus and even managed to trap me in chakra chains, something that I believed only the woman of the Uzumaki were capable of manipulating. He also used Fuinnjutsu a lot, which in hindsight was not a simple pre-made seals, but also, amazingly, drawing them as we fought as if he'd been doing it for years.

Of course I had won, but it was an extremely close call. He had incorporated his new chakra chains to drag me into his Fuinnjutsu trap. I held my ground though, chakra anchoring me to the earth. Then he had cast a wind jutsu that tore the ground apart and had the chakra chains drag me, pieces of earth stuck to my feet. I cast a replacement jutsu just before I met the Fuinnjutsu circle. I smirked as I quickly trapped him in a Sharingan powered genjutsu. Ironically, it was Naruto who taught me that sometimes the simplest moves were the best to counter such well thought out traps.

Next I was to fight Sakura. I almost smiled at this, I really enjoyed sparring with her, not just because her fighting style was so close and personal, but also because she was strong in taijutsu and I was always guaranteed a good workout.

The match started with a stand still. Sakura met my gaze, glaring at me with a look on her face, one that was of dislike mixed with daring and apprehension. As if she knew exactly was was going to happen and that she might as well get it over with.

After a few moments when I didn't take the first move, surprise filled her gaze and she warily started to approach me. When she was half a yard in front of me she blurred towards me in an incredible speed that, had I not had my Sharingan, I would have believed her capable of teleporting.

Still, I was able to move fast enough to avoid the first hit, but that was the only one I managed to dodge. I was hit a total of ten times before she sent me stumbling back. I was surprised slightly, usually any of her punches would have sent me flying, and though these punches hurt, they did not cripple with one single blow.

As the fight went on I realised that it wasn't just her hits that had changed. She was fast, faster than me even. She struck fast and hard, moving like water or a leaf dancing in the wind, flowing around the few strikes that I threw.

Then, when we broke apart and I had a little room, she bit her thumb smearing it on her sleeve and then, somehow, pulled out a katana from up said sleeve of her skin tight track suit. The katana was slightly longer then my own chokuto and looked like it was made of silver. It looked elegant and deadly, light and sharp. It sparkled beautifully in the sun. I knew Sakura was not ignorant in kenjutsu, but her type of sword was usually a broader sword, or better yet, a heavy battle axe. Her swiftness and skill with the katana, however, was nothing compared to mine.

Yet as they fought on, I found that she matched me blow for blow, dodging and parrying like she had been wielding a katana all her life. Then her efforts doubled and she went on the offensive and it was me dodging and scrambling to parry.

Somehow, Sakura was able to discard my Kusanagi, her katana coming swiftly towards me in a slow mock final beheading. But I had a kunai in my hand and I cut deep on through the back of her hand and she dropped the katana right into my waiting hand. Next thing she knew, her own weapon rested against her throat.

I smirked slightly in triumph until I felt the pressure of my own kunai over my heart.

I looked down to confirm and looked back up, smirk growing wider. Fitting how her killing blow went for my heart when it was already in her hands. She smiled back at me, her expression one of joy and exuberance that came with a good spar. She was beautiful in the moment and I wanted to kiss her so much. I even leaned in, but then Naruto was there and he was clapping and congratulating Sakura on 'showing the teme', never mind that it was technically a draw.

He then dragged us to sit on the grass and eat;strangely enough it was neither ramen nor some sort of mystery food Sakura made. It was a home cooked meal that was amazing even if I was unsure where it came from. We were all laughing and having a nice time, something that we hadn't done since I had left.

Still, I couldn't help but stare at Sakura, not just because she was beautiful. She had fought differently. Sure, I hadn't had the chance to train with her since we got back to the village and she had spent all of her time in the hospital, but how could her fighting style change so drastically? For one she did not use herinsane strength or her chakra scalpels. In fact, she had not used chakra at all.

Primarily, she fought using chakra enhanced attack that split the ground, dodging attacks while deliveringher own devastating punches in return. In the fight that we had, she did not attack as she had before. Sure, it was fun, and it was good that Sakura wasn't relying entirely on her enhanced strength, but it was also a little strange she hadn't used it once.

And then I noticed that her hand, the one I had cut to get her to drop her katana, was still bleeding. Guilt nagged at me as I stared at the blood dripping down her hand until I could not take it anymore and I told her to heal it.

Then the next think I know is that I'm wheezing on the ground holding my groin watching Sakura walk away and Naruto and Kakashi were glaring at me like I was Madara reborn before following after her.

They left me laying there upset, confused and also in a lot of pain.

* * *

Dreams of Sakura followed our sparring match and things became clearer, I had been a horrible person to her, worse then I had been in my world. I had takenall my insecurities out on her and crippled myself. I relied heavily on chakra and could not understand how Sakura was able to be a ninja without it. I knew Lee did, but this was Sakura, and a Sakura unable to use chakra was...wrong. In this world, chakra had become a crutch to hold me up and make me feel...normal.

But Sakura, she was strong without it. She worked hard and beat me in everything else. Chakra was the only thing I had on her. And like the petty, mean person I was, I had rubbed it in her face, told her that she could never be a ninja because a ninja was not a ninja without chakra. Without chakra, she was just a civilian that could take a punch and throw a kunai. I felt so disgusted in my younger, dream world self, remembering the time I'd been easily beaten by Lee who couldn't use chakra either.

Kakashi was in the dreams too, he lacked his trademark Sharingan, but his teaching methods were the best. He was the sensei every team of never passing a team, he had never failed one, he worked will every team he was given to make them better, stronger and help the village. He was considered a retired ninja to most, barely a step up from a chunin sensei that taught the academy students. But no one could disagree that not only had all his teams passed; they all had gone one to become the best and strongest of the village.

Though Kakashi was no longer fit to take high ranking missions because he only had one eye, he trained many to take his place. It was a far cry from his late lazy sensei in reality.

And Naruto, he was a Namikaze from the start. Minato, the Fourth Hokage, had got his wish and Naruto was celebrated for being the cage of the Kyuubi. He was also groomed from a very young age to be the Hokage like his father, so much so that he was taught all the jutsus his father knew. His life was much better and all his dreams were coming true before he could even start to dream them.

But what I didn't get was how this fit into reality,because this had never happened. Was my mind just supplying imaginative theories, make believe reasons of why or how I could have messed up so bad with Sakura when it had been going so well seconds before I opened my mouth?

I didn't have time to analyse my dreams as I was sent on a mission the next day.

* * *

"I'm sorry Sasuke, I'm taking you out of ANBU." Tsunade stated. "That leg injury of yours is a weakness we can't afford in ANBU ranks. It's a liability."

She sat across from where I stood in front of her desk, leaning almost entirely on my right leg, seriously injured from a failed mission I had just returned from. It was a horrible failure, not only had I lost the scroll to a Kumo nin, I had also failed to protect my team, resulting in the death of two of them and the other being hurt so bad that he was removed from all ninja activity. It would be a miracle if he would ever be able to walk again and it was all my fault.

I didn't know what happened. All I did was try one of my moves that I had learnt from my time training under Orochimaru. It was an easy maneuver that only relied on speed, something that was one of my best, if not the best, ability I had at my disposal. But I had messed it up; I wasn't fast enough, something that I could have made up for, if my left leg didn't give out under me. I kicked myself at my own idiocy; I had been pondering my loss in speed, in my slowing of movements for two weeks. It had almost gotten me killed on two occasions already, yet in the heat of the battle I had so easily forgotten.

Not only did I fall on my face and knock myself out cold like a toddler who was learning to walk, embarrassing myself completely in the process, but I also left my team completely open. It had never happened before and took me completely by surprise, leaving me vulnerable.

I had woken up to find myself surrounded by bodies. There were only three Kumo nin, all dead along with two of my team, the third being very close to death. It was after I burnt the bodies that I realized that the fourth Kumo ninja had escaped with the scroll. I had to make the decision to pursue the Kumo ninja, who was most likely halfway to to his village by now, or get my one remaining teammate to help. I chose my to save my teammate. I knew that if it hadn't of been for my team taking out all the Kumo nin, except for one who had escaped with the scroll, I would be dead. Saving one of them in return was the least I could do.

I sighed, so much for world peace. It didn't even last until Naruto had taken the seat of Hokage.

"I would recommend that you retire but I know you won't listen to that and you'll run off to do something stupid again, so I'm demoting you to jounin." Tsunade said sternly, bringing me out of my thoughts. Her eyes flickering with a type of indecision that was both new and not her eyes drifted to Shizune who shrugged in answer to her questioning eyes then her eyes traveled back to me.

Something must have been still wrong with her, she had been acting really weird the last couple of of weeks and if it were not for the fact that my Sharingan would be able to tell if it was a genjutsu. I would suspect that she was a bad imposter.

"But maybe," she amended, "You could take the ANBU exams again in a year and get reinstated."

She looked at all people, even her ANBU guards, in the room for an answer or some sort of input, when no one spoke she sagged in her chair.

"You can go if you want." Tsunade sighed.

I gave a stiff nod and left.

* * *

_I was little, just a kid and I was running through the empty Uchiha grounds, concerned more on Okaa-san's and Otou-san's anger that was surely awaiting me for coming home late again. Completely oblivious to the fact that it was only early evening, the sun only setting minutes ago and that it was weird that no one was walking around._

_I knew this, I'd had dreams about it all the time and I could never stop them, but right now it felt different somehow. More vivid, as if I was reliving it, at least the dreams I had I felt nothing physical, but right now I felt the hard road below my feet as I ran, the cool wind that blew and the very real worry about trivial things. As if I really had no clue what was about to occur, yet there was nothing I could do about it._

_I ran through the front door of my house, calling for my Okaa-san, finally realizing that something was wrong when I smelt no dinner and didn't hear an immediate response. I walked through the dark house, by stomach twisted in slight fear, my younger self knowing that something was not right._

_I searched the house, feeling the building sickness as I got closer to the dojo where I knew that Itachi was, slitting our parents' throats. I knew the reasons he had done it, but I still could not forgive or forget; it still haunted me. Selfishly, I sometimes thought it was a good thing that he died, I didn't think that I could look him in the face everyday and not think of his cruel face as he killed our parents then made me relive it over and over._

_The shock hit me when I walked into the doujo and it was completely empty save for the normal training equipment that was always there. The shock I felt didn't stop the younger me from carrying on searching._

_It wasn't until I had reached upstairs that I heard sounds. They were muffled, but I definitely heard something. I followed the sounds to my parents' room and hesitated at the door. I wasn't really allowed inside, not without my parents. Still, my curiosity got the better of me and I reached for the door handle, intent on investigating these strange noises._

_What I walked in on was horrifying, Otou-sama was tied to the bed, cuts littering his body, dripping down and being soaked up by the white sheets. He was unusually still, the kind of unnatural stillness that could only be achieved in death. His face, though, was contorted into a expression of the most excruciating pain, like the last moment before his death were not all that pleasant._

_I felt emotions too large and too complex for someone as young as I was fill me, begging to burst out o my body, consuming me completely. I quickly looked away from him, tears springing into my eyes, I wanted to scream, to cry, to run towards him and help, but my body would not move. I had no control over my limbs. I just stood there, looking down, shaking all over, willing the scene to be unreal, fabricated. Yet when I snuck another look, Otou-sanstill laid on the bed, torture and dead._

_A muffled scream ripped me out of my stupor and my gaze wondered to a dark corner where my mother sat, tied to a chair, tears streaming down her checks, but completely unharmed otherwise._

_"OKAA-SAN!" The sound ripped from my throat, painful and pleading. Adrenaline flooded my previously numb body return and I ran, stumbling over nothing, towards her. I stopped in front of hershaking hands as I attempted to take off her gag._

_"What happened kaa-san?" My voice was panicked and dripping with a child's vulnerability._

_She tried to speak though the gag, tear streaming down her checks, the sheer depression and fear that oozed from her gaze made mine spike and I felt myself shaking more. Then her eyes went wide and she screamed inaudibly. Crying even more now then she had been before and thrashing so much that I couldn't even attempt to free her any longer. I was on the verge of asking her what was wrong, when I noticed that she was not looking at me anymore; she was looking at something behind me. So I turned around and happened to catch a glimpse of Itachi's face, cold and emotionless as ever and when I caught his Sharingan everything went black._

* * *

I sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Sweat covered my body and the fear and panic from the dream not having subsided just yet. My stomach turned and I found myself running to the bathroom.

I felt horrible. The mission I had failed had replayed in my head again and again, the guilt tearing at me, when I was finally able to sleep, I dreamt of this.

I shook my head, still shaking, it felt so real, as if it happened and I found myself wondering if it had. The lack of sleep and the nightmares were getting to me.

Since Tsunade had demoted me and told me to take the next few weeks off and ever since I had that meeting with Tsunade I felt suspicious. No, for the longest time I'd had the feeling that something was wrong, that people around me were wrong. In the way they looked or acted and some of the things that Tsunade said made it abundantly clear that something was definitely wrong.

I stood on shaking legs and walked to the sink, splashing my face with cold water and rinsing my mouth.

I had the feeling that it also had something to do with these dreams I've been having of things that never happened, of a life I had never lived. As impossible as it seemed, I did not think that this was the Konoha I knew, no I don't think that this was the world that I knew. But I had to do research. I had to made sure that my dreams were more than that. Genjutsu was immediately ruled out because my Sharingan could see through all Genjutsu, which left more unbelievable explanations. Taking into account the dreams that were as different as night and day to my past, there was only one explanation that I could think universe.

As soon as I thought that I shook my head. That could not have been it, it just seemed so...strange. I knew, for a fact that it was possible to create an alternate reality, it was one of the things that the Mangekyou Sharingan could do. But at the base of that, it was still only a genjutsu, one that my Sharingan would have been able to see though.

I narrowed my eyes, starring at nothing. There were two ways that I could find out if these dreams were of a past life I lived in this…world. Or just myself suffering from Post Traumatic Stress disorder. I loathed to think that that was the case but with everything that happened in my life, it wasn't that far fetched.

One way was ask people, something that would be impossible for me. Even if I did manage to find a way to ask without seeming crazy, I wasn't sure what to ask. So the only other thing to do was to look up my records.

I wasn't going to be getting sleep anytime soon so I thought now was as good a time as any to sneak into the ANBU headquarters and check out the files.

It turned out to be almost laughably easy to sneak in and find the files I was looking for, and after I had quickly scanned them with my Sharingan eyes I knew that what I had thought was crazy, was completely true. This was not the place I had known and lived all my life. This was someplace new and my dreams were indeed those of my alternate self's past. All because of two sentence writing in the medical part of my file.

Leg injury sustained in Uchiha massacre. Untreatable but will not hinder him from ninja duty.

My first thought was of the dream I just had of the massacre, not surprising because that was a turning point in my life in both worlds. Was Itachi still going my the orders of the village in this reality too? I had not killed him in this universe, not for lack of trying, and I couldn't help but think that this could be my chance to give Itachi a proper life.

With that thought I snuck deeper into the archives until I found Itachi's last mission request, to kill the entire Uchiha clan. I breathed out. I would get my second chance to save Itachi.

* * *

_I was dreaming again, only this time I was tied to a chair, gaged and bound like okaa-san who was sitting across from me. She looked horrible, as if I had slept for years and they had aged her. I wasn't sure what it was about her that was wrong. My mind was working slowly and my head hurt, giving off a dull throb, and sleep was still heavily tugging at me._

_"Ah, you're up." The voice wasn't surprised at all, like he'd known all this time. It was a calm, apathetic and emotionless voice that was all too familiar to me even though I had not heard it in years._

_"Itachi," was what I had tried to say but the gag made it sound like a distorted groan. For a second, my young mind felt relieved, safe, it was around about that time that I remembered Itachi striking._

_"You see Sasuke," he gestured to the slain bodies of our clansmen, "they are just bodies now, they can't feel anything."_

_I screamed through the gag and thrashed madly against my binds that tied me to the seat as I watched Itachi started to slice our mother open. I watched with tear filled eyes as his kunai cut through skin tissue and muscle, right to the bone._

_There were no emotions on his face as he desecrated the bodies of our parents. It was worse then if he'd taken pleasure out of it. He moved with a meticulous precision that said that he'd done this before. As if this was something that he was familiar with and the people he was slicing were nothing to him; as if there were no ties linking him to them._

_I sat there, unable to look away or even close my eyes. I could only watch as Itachi collected organs from our parents. Otou-san's lungs, which he placed in a bag. "Otou always had good lungs. He had screamed for hours before I killed him you know." And Okaa-san's heart went into another one. "You told me that you loved us with all of this, I guess you won't mind me taking it."_

_Then he stood, walking towards me slowly, his hands, arms, most of his front, dripping with Uchiha blood, most of it from our parents._

_"Now what to do with you." His voice was soft and calm, unfeeling and so horribly familiar that it made me sick. I had taken comfort in words that had been spoken in that calm voice, now it scared me beyond imagination._

_"I could kill you too, leave no witnesses behind. I'm supposed to be on a mission, I would come back tomorrow and find that my whole clan has been slaughtered by some unknown ninja." Itachi explained before he tilted his head in a measured way. "But then no one would know of my strength and I would be forced to play another role."_

_He stepped even closer, leaned down to look me straight in the eyes, his Sharingan spinning slowly. It hypnotized me slightly and I fought the urge to surrender to its power, to pretend that everything was good. To live in a fantasy world were my brother was not a murderer, my parents were alive and so was my clan. But I couldn't do that because only children did that and in these past two hours I had grown up._

_Itachi had pulled out a bloody kunai, the one he used to cut kaa-san open and was stroking the side of my face with it. Slowly running down my check leaving a trail of blood behind, over the gag and towards my neck. He rested the sharp blade at my neck for a moment and I wished with all my heart that he'd do it. That he'd slide that kunai against my exposed throat and end me so that I may be reunited with my parents._

_For the first time that night, he smirked as he raised the kunai up. I closed my eyes, awaiting the killing blow that would send me to see my family again. And then I felt a sting, blood falling out of the wound that was not on my throat, but instead on my check. He had cut through the gag, giving me a scratch in the process._

_"No." He spoke straightening. "If I killed you, who would spread the story of how strong I am?"_

_Itachi then gave me a grin that was dripping with madness. "That doesn't mean I'll leave you untouched. A messenger needs only their mouth intact, after all."_

_Then the kunai was on me again, dug deep into my left leg, I screamed as the pain took hold of my senses. The pain burned, shaking my entire being, instinct took over and I thrashed, trying to shake off the pain and bringing myself more in the process. He must have channelled chakra into the kunai also, because there was no way that it should hurt this much, there was no way that it should burn with a cold heat and made my leg twitch and kick._

_He then turned his back on me, expressing how little of a threat I was to him, and started to walk away, as if my screams had filled some sort of hunger and now that his meal was over he had no more business with me. "Next time, I'll end your pathetic life."_

_"Why?" I choked out, my breath was hard and my eyes were so fulled with tears that I couldn't even make out where he stood. I felt weak and useless, but he was already gone and I was talking to an empty room._

* * *

_It was days before I was found. My throat was raw and stinging. My leg was never the same._

The words ran across my mind even as I panted for air. They were clear in my freshly woken mind, though they were whispered, as if a child had been the one to say it, to confess it as if it was a weak act to be shameful of, like I had broken a vase of great importance.

The dream disturbed me but it did not change my mind, Itachi in this world was just better at playing the villain. I was still going to try it, if not for the Itachi of this world, then for the one of mine.

I shook myself, thankful that I hadn't vomited this time. I stared out into the darkness of the room. The Itachi of this world was much crueller. It showed me just how easily I had gotten off in mine, not a lot better, seventy-two hours of watching him kill everyone was horrible, but at least they were all clean deaths, no torture. Then again, this Itachi did not have the Mangekyou Sharingan and needed me to believe he was the villain some other way. Both me and the alternate Sasuke were thick at that age when it came to Itachi.

Though, it was a wonder how the Sasuke here wasn't completely crazy, the massacre had been tamer in my world by comparison and yet I had gone crazier. Sure this Sasuke too had run off to Orochimaru, but after he was dead this Sasuke came back. Maybe because it was worse for him that he clung to Konoha.

But I shook myself out of my thoughts and got up walking to my shower. The Uchiha home was the same in any universe. Same walls, same floors, only in this home, the blood stains were in a different room.

I had returned to the abandoned Uchiha district instead of finding a new apartment, the lack of bloodstains in the dojo was further proof that this was not the same universe. I didn't, however, go into the bedroom. Even if it didn't actually happen to me, it was hard enough just being in the house.

Right now it was too much, I had to escape. I quickly dressed and was out of the house. It was early morning but it was still very dark. The cold crisp air did wonders from me as I walked aimlessly through the quiet streets and out of the Uchiha district.

Last night, after I had gotten back from the ANBU achieves and the shock of being in another world wore off. I started to question the how, how it was possible and the only thing I could think of was that scroll that Naruto used on me and Sakura. It must nave happened when the Kurama went to send me out, Sakura had most likely gotten out fine, she wasn't here with me, of that I was certain.

I growled to myself, Naruto must have altered mine so that he could prank me, it must have went wrong and I somehow got transported to here. I was going to beat that dobe into the ground when I got back, but first, I had to save Itachi, after that I was planning to ask this Naruto for help getting back. It was something I was sure this Naruto could do. This worlds Naruto had such a mastery in Fuinnjutsu that it made other ones look like childish scribbles.

Soon, I found myself wondering through the training grounds and the pink and black that caught my eye made me stop. Sakura was in one of the training grounds and after only a moment's hesitation, I entered. I saw her eyes flicker to me but she didn'tsay anything as I sat down.

In fact, Sakura looked away and ignored me as I sat against a tree watching her. I stared at her form as she effortlessly moved through her katas, ones that I had never seen anyone else use but ones that I remember her utilizing against me in that spar. She was so amazing, how was it that this Sasuke could not see it?

It seemed like hours until she finally stopped and turned to me. Her glare was ice, the kind of coldness in her eyes belonged only in the land of snow. But I knew that past that ice, she was hurt. She had worked hard to be a ninja, to become one despite her lackingchakra and all I had ever done was stomp all over her work.

I breathed out softly, ashamed of what my alternate had done. But no, I shook my head softly. I was going to make it right.

"Sakura. I'm sorry." The words were soft, so soft in fact I wonder if she heard them at all.

She looked wary again but there was almost a non-exsistant slither of hope that was shrivelled and dying in her eyes. She needed me to say this and there was no getting around it with actions, this time I had to use words.

"You are a better ninja then me, but more importantly, you are a better person then me. Forgive me." I almost hit myself, it was the truth but why was it that I stopped? I knew I could speak more, knew that I could tell her everything but every time I opened my mouth only a few words escaped and they were always blunt and always sounded like a demand.

I shook my head and opened my mouth to say more but realised that there was nothing more to say. More words would just sugar coat it. I had already said all I wanted to, I had nothing left now. So I shut my mouth and turned my gaze back to her from where I was glaring at the ground.

Her expression was shocked. Her emotions were raw and it reminded me of Sakura, my Sakura from my world and my heart ached. But then the moment ended and she smiled hesitantly and nodded. I relaxed but did not smile in return. I felt much too conflicted to do so. Instead I sat back down as Sakura finished her morning workout.

When she softly asked to spar with me, I instantly agreed, knowing that a friendship was beginning to form. I think that the other Sasuke had hurt her too much for her to trust me but for now, this was enough.

* * *

I spent most of my time off with team seven. It was strange, they were so different yet, at the same time, the same. We trained together, we ate together and we laughed together, well they laughed.

And then there was the moments I spent with Sakura. It turned out that she was always up training before dawn. I had another nightmare and went for a walk and found her training again. Steadily, I started getting up just to catch her there.

She was still very wary around me, like if she dropped her guard I would attack. Slowly, though, she started to relax and soon she was Sakura from before I left. Smiling, laughing and happy and it made me ache in want.

My heart would clench and stutter, I'd find myself staring at her for too long, long enough for her to notice and grow uncomfortable. I wanted to kiss her, but I had this strange feeling in my stomach, sure, it was Sakura, but it was not my Sakura. Was it cheating when we're not even together and it was on an alternate version of herself?

The thought held me back from kissing her in those few moments that the time presented itself. I knew, that if Sakura was here and was with an alternate me, I would be crazy with jealousy. Even so, I often forgot that she was a different Sakura, she was the same in so many ways and I found myself warmed at the thought of this Sakura.

Why was it that I could not keep away from this Sakura. This was not my world and I did not grow up with this Sakura, yet here I was wanting her all the same, never wanting her to be with any other me.

Then again, I amended, I would rather see her with any me then someone else. I think that I would want to be with Sakura too, no matter where I was. Though I didn't think it would happen here either, we were friends now but I knew that she would think it a ploy if I were to try for more and being rejected by one Sakura was enough for me. I just didn't think I could bare it.

"You look like your thinking pretty deeply." The cause for my internal struggle said shaking me out of my thoughts as we walked to the training ground to met up with the rest of team 7.

"Aa." I agreed.

"What are you thinking about then." She asked curiously.

I smirked at her as I answered truthfully. "A beautiful woman."

She paused in shock for a moment, her step faltered before she got her bearings and was walking next to me again. "I never thought you'd be the type to pine after a woman."

I almost laughed but merely scoffed instead.

"Does she know?"

"Iie."

"Will you confess?"

"Iie."

"Why not and you better not give me a one world answer." She was very clearly frustrated with me which almost made me smile.

"I said some very stupid things to her. She'd probably laugh at me." I told her honestly, with removing all the attraction I felt towards Sakura, she was the only person I felt comfortable around to share my fears with. Naruto was horrible with girls and truly believed that fighting and ramen solved everything. It was probably in the Fuinnjutsu he used to bring me here and that was why I was suddenly in a new universe.

So I thought, what better person to get advice from about what to to with Sakura the Sakura herself, sure it was an alternate version of her but still.

"I'll be the first one to agree with that but I would rather live my whole life knowing that I did everything I could to make sure the person I liked knew I liked them. Then to live in regret because I was too afraid that they would reject me." She said wisely.

I stopped and faced her as she spoke, watching as she smiled and I felt my heart beat hard. She was standing in front of me, so close I could almost feel her body heat.

"Besides." She said softly. "If you ask enough maybe they will eventually say yes to a date and you have a chance to show them just how amazing you are."

Flashbacks of Sakura constantly asking for dates when we were genin flitted across my mind. Again I wished, and not for the first time, that I had accepted one of them. But thoughts were fleeing me because Sakura and me were getting closer, almost touching, her eyes were piercing mine and I could not stop myself this time.

I didn't have to either, because Naruto was suddenly there and he was dragging both of us towards the training ground talking about fighting and ramen. I couldn't decide whether to be thankful or not, on one hand I did not want to get close to this Sakura and then have to leave, back to my world and back to my Sakura. On the other, this was Sakura and my body, mind and soul craved her, any of her.

* * *

I could tell that the conversation was bothering Naruto, even though this Naruto was much better at hiding his feelings then the one of my world. Still, Naruto was my best friend, in both this world and my original, and I knew him better then I knew myself, so I knew for a fact that Naruto did not like talking about his ascension to the Hokage seat. It was clear, at least to me, that Naruto did not want it. I had noticed it before, not in only in my time here but also in my dreams, that Naruto had problems with the village.

In this world, Naruto had been groomed for the seat of Hokage. He'd been taught by the best and had the weight of the village laid on his shoulders before he'd even been able to stand with his own weight. Yet he had never said a word, never said that he didn't want it to anyone, my dreams had made that clear.

It was very strange to me, who had always known Naruto to be reaching and striving for that Hokage title and the respect of the village. Then again, it was also very understandable. Naruto here already had that just by being the son of the fourth Hokage. It was expected of him to be Hokage and everything he did was always overshadowed by the achievements of his father. One he didn't know personally. To Naruto, his father was just a face on a mountain and a standard he could never compare to.

Still, every person he met turned to oil around him;slick, greasy and transparent. He'd been given sob stories, had people complaining to him, he'd had parents push their children towards him in an effort to be close to the future Hokage. I knew he hated it, how he was treated, just like in my world. It didn't matter that here he was liked. He was still unhappy yet still trying to put on a facade of happiness for those around him. The Naruto of my world had learnt, that heartache, pain, anger and sorrow, sometimes, it was okay to let out, to let the mask crack and show his closest friends what he was truly feeling. This one had never gone through any hardships to push his real feelings out.

I could not let him suffer. Naruto, no matter this universe or the last one, was my best friend and he had done so much for me. Without him I would be living in darkness with only my sorrow and agony. But he had saved me from that fate and now it was my turn to return that favour. I was going to get Naruto to believe in himself and the village.

"Baka," I called to him.

He had snuck away from everyone after skillfully changing the subject, but I had stealthily followed him and when we were far enough away I called him.

He turned towards me and a grin broke out across his face. He liked that I called him baka, because no one else dared to since he was the son of the fourth and the future Hokage. It made him feel normal.

"Teme," he greeted in return after a quick scan of the surroundings to make sure no one was around, as future Hokage he was taught that he had to uphold a certain image, one that would be ruined if he was calling people things like bastard.

I quickly caught up to him, something that would nothave been possible if he was actually running away from me, I knew.

"So what's up, teme?" He asked when I was next to him. I steered us away from the more crowded streets that lead to his house and instead headed towards the abandoned streets of my compound.

I merely grunted, knowing that he would know, or at least guess, that I didn't want to talk in the middle of a street where anyone passing by could overhear. Also, I wanted time to figure out what I would say. For Naruto, talking was easy. Making people see sense was easy, mostly because he was always talking and nagging and it was just statistics that eventually he would stumble upon the right words to say to make someone see reason. I on the other hand, only talk when absolutely necessary. Sure it made it so that when I did speak, I only had to say something once to drive it in instead of a hundred times like Naruto, but it also meant that I only had one chance to get my point across.

Sooner then I'd have liked, we were sitting in my kitchen. I took another few minutes to think of what I was going to say as I prepared tea. Minutes that helped very little because when I sat down again I still had no clue what I was going to say.

"You don't want to be Hokage." The words were blunt and I had to control the cringe I felt at my own lack of subtlety.

"And I just don't want to be like my dad and die for the village."

Lucky for me after a few seconds of protest Naruto broke and confessed what I had already knew. After a long rant about duty, honour and his father and containing more sarcasm then I had thought Naruto to be capable of, he had finally finished.

"Your father was a good man who protected this village and the people he loved. Why would you not want to be like him?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, thinking hard. "They don't want me to be Hokage, they just want another Namikaze."

"Then be Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto would never know what the words truly meant to me. He would not like that I stood him next to Uzumaki Naruto and that even with all the boosts that the Namikaze got, he still fell short. He wouldn't know that I was telling him to be an alternate version of himself. All he thought was that I had given him something else Uzumaki to take and a way to step out of his father's shadow.

Naruto grinned at me and I felt homesick as he almost yelled.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be Hokage!"

* * *

I stood in front of Itachi. I had gotten my wish and it was about to fight him again. My stomach churned unpleasantly as I tried to ignore the bodies of the dead Konoha ninja around me, none of them I recognised, thankfully. Still, it was unsettling to see that this Itachi, so much colder than the one from my universe.

With my knowledge of Itachi's movements from my world, it was easy to track him down in this world. It had only taken a month and then I was standing in front of him, this time with a team of support that the Hokage had reluctantly given to me. Not because she wanted me to go alone, but because the Lacking had taken her self assurance and made her indecisive.

But I should have come alone, I realised when they attacked so idiotically. I was here to talk to Itachi, not attack him. A part of me, one where I still thought my brother could do no wrong, said that they deserved it.

Now it was only us.

"Foolish, Otouto." Itachi grinned sinisterly. Shivers ran up my spine but he was Itachi. He was my brother and I had to see past the lie.

"Itachi, I know why you killed the clan. I know about the coup and that you were just following orders. If you come back, we can get justice for our clan." With the words out I felt as if a weight had lifted from my chest. But that feeling did not last for long.

When Itachi laughed next, it was high and cold. It reminded me distinctly of Orochimaru, though theywere different in sound, both rung of madness. "You are even more foolish than I gave you credit for."

And then he told me the truth. He bragged about how easy it was to spread discord among both the Uchiha and the Elders. He was the spy for both sides and the information he received from both sides was the bestintell for each. Both thought him on their side, only he was on neither. He loved to spread chaos and because he was their smartest and next heir, when he said that Konoha was lost and they needed to take over, they listened and started planning the coup. Then when he told the elders of the coup they were planning and said there was nothing more they could do but cut it off before it started, they too listen. He played both sides, killing one entirely then got off free because it was an order.

"And now I am able to live out my life free of that village. I can kill anyone I like and no hunter-nin will ever come after me because those stupid Elders think I'm still on their side."

My world crashed down around me. I felt sick, this Itachi was nothing like the one of my world, and if I had not been so blinded I would have realised this sooner. But Itachi could never do wrong in my eyes, not after what he had sacrificed. But this Itachi, this one took, he was the true villain that I pictured Itachi was years ago when I set out to kill him in my own world.

Then he spoke of how he had been sick and needed new lungs, lungs that he took from our father. He spoke of the heart he had taken from our mother. Taken in hopes that with it he could obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan, with her heart in him, he was going to kill one of the people she loved and get the Mangekyou.

"I'll kill you and I will have fulfilled the requirementsto have the ultimate Sharingan," Itachi said softly, a wicked smile playing at the edge of his mouth.

And then he was on me. I parried his first blow, barely, and we entered into a deadly dance of strikes that never hit the mark. It was a blur of kicks, punches, counters and dodges.

I gritted my teeth. I knew that Itachi was faster than me. Right now he was just playing with me, but if he started to get serious while we're were in the middle of a taijutsu battle, I was a good as dead.

I drew a kunai and slashed, trying to get him to retreat, to give me room so that I could cast a jutsu or draw my katana. He didn't. He let the kunai sink into his side, laughing as if there was no pain. Quickly, I shook off my shock and ran electricity through the kunai. He twitched, but the voltage was not high enough to move him. I let out a breath as I felt a kunai of his own sink into my side. He grinned and the kunai was hot, burning the inside of my wound.

Foolishly, I jerked away. The kunai tore at my side and the wound grew larger, but at least it was no longer buried in my side. He was on me again, not letting me move away from him and it made me realise that he would not. For all his act of madness, he was not stupid. He knew that as long as the battle was close range, he controlled it. As soon as I had room, he was unsure of how apart in skill we were.

I circulated my chakra, covering myself with a chidori current that covered my whole body. He paused long enough that I was able to draw Kusanagi, the blade crackled as my chidori current raced down it and, for just a moment, Itachi's smile dropped. Then his grin returned and he ran at me, unsealing a blade of his own. It was beautiful in its own right. It also looked like exactly like the kind of tachi swords that the some of the samurai lords carried. The kind that took years to make and were the price of a small village but were worth it because they never needed to be course he had one. I briefly worried for Kusanagi's ability to stand up to this blade. The two blades clashed, both were said to be able to cut through anything.

I had hoped that I would be able to now have the advantage over Itachi, but his tachi was very sharp and he wield it well, sparks flew as the lightning covered Kusanagi clashed with the tachi that once belonged to samurai lords.

I knew that if I did not get an opening soon it was game over. I could see the boredom slowly slipping into Itachi. He would want to end it soon. Just a few minutes were all I needed. I was getting prepared to use something that I really shouldn't. It was a jutsu that the Sasuke of this world developed. It was a one shot thing just like mine had been, but this one, this one was much more dangerous. If it didn't work, I would not have the energy to carry on fighting. But right now, it was my best hope.

My Sharingan spun as I rapidly cast genjutsu after genjutsu, trapping him in a complex and tightly woven thread of illusions. This however, did not stop him from fighting entirely. So, though I could not give all of my attention to casting the jutsu, I would have most of it free. It was a little strange and uncomfortable trying to correctly do the ten handsigns for the jutsu while in a sword match with someone in a genjutsu, but not impossible. I completed it just as Itachi broke through the final layer.

It was too late for him to do anything as giant streams of lightning shot out of me and built up in the sky above me. The jutsu collected energy from my very life force to power it. My chakra nature was lightning, but with my speed taken from me in this world I couldn't power my jutsus with the kinetic force of speed. Sure, I had altered the chidori here so that I could use it, but a jutsu of this kind, without speed to boost it, needed a different power source. The solution I had developed was to fuel it with life energy.

But this was my only chance, my only shot. Even if I died here, I wanted it to be a safer place for my friends, even if they were alternate versions. I shook with weakness as the collected energy exploded. It crackled down on. Not only Itachi but also me. The lightning crackled and sizzled, burning and destroying anything and everything within a half mile radius. It was so bright that I could not see. Not Itachi, not my own sword. Nothing.

It lasted for a minute, the light, the pressure and the loud cracking then it all retreated and everything was dark. As if it had turned to night in just a few minutes. I was shocked that I could still make out the figure of Itachi, hunched over and looking weak and tired, but still alive and using his tachi to support himself. He grunted, and it took me a while to realise that he was trying to hold in laughter. It did not succeed as soon he was cackling.

I shook my head in disbelief at both his madness, and his durability. How was it possible? I didn't even get time to linger on the thought as he was suddenly rushing towards me. He was so lost in his madness that he did not even use any katas or strategies as he recklessly ran at me, his tachi held over his head. It was almost laughably easy to drive my chokuto into his heart.

I didn't laugh though, I cried. Tears blurring Itachi's face, distorting his features until I could no longer make out the madness. In that second he was the Itachi that I knew from my world. The kind brother who trained me and loved me and spared me even though he knew that it was probably a bad idea. My gaze lowered to see the blade in his chest, my Kusunagi, I had killed him again.

But the tears fell and my vision cleared some and the madness in his face was clear again and I was back to the present. No, I didn't kill my brother again. I killed a madman wearing his face. I had done the world a service. Still, that did not make acknowledging his death a second time any easier.

Itachi slid off my chokuto and fell to the ground in a very real, very dead, heap. I stumbled but did not follow him. I just stood there, feeling the tiredness of my body, knowing that I had to find a safe place to rest.

And then Sakura was there across the giant crater that my last jutsu had made, calling to me. But the edges of my vision were already closing in and with my vision tunnelling and my body so heavy, I knew that I was about to pass out. I stumbled towards her, trying to run to her like she did to me, but something struck my head and then the world was black.

* * *

I stared at the blinding white wall in front of me. My mind was slow and sluggish in a worrying way. I tried to lift my head from where it rested against the back of a chair. It took more effort than it should have, even with how badly I was injured.

What was happening? Where was I? The last thing that I remembered was Itachi burning, screaming as he was consumed in the black flames of my Amatsurasu. I felt overwhelming sadness hit me, guilt drowning me in giant waves. I had killed my brother again. Sure I'm in an alternate reality and the Itachi here was much crueller, but he was still my brother. But what if later I find out that this world's Itachi was just like mine, only better at hiding it.

Then what? I prompted myself, trying to keep my mind on track. Then, there was Sakura, running towards me. She had been screaming. She looked so panicked, so worried. I didn't like it. She should stop making faces like that. Why was she worried though?

My mind played the memory in slow motion, memorised by my Sharingan. She was running and screaming. What was she screaming? Focus, I told myself, focus on her words.

I watched her mouth carefully. Sasuke. She was calling my name, screaming it but not in happiness. Concentrate, I told myself, what was the rest? I thought hard, replaying the memory over and overuntil I realised what she said. Trap. That was what she was screaming. "Sasuke, run. It's a trap." But then the darkness took over and all was black.

I must have been captured. That must have been what happened. I just hoped that Sakura hadn't been taken too.

A buzzing reached out and touched my sluggish mind, making me realise that I wasn't alone. My head lolled from side to side as I tried to look around the room. The room, which I had thought was white when I had woken, was in fact grey and large machines filled most of the tiny space. Some shone with with light, some beeped and others flashed, looking at them made my already sluggish mind slower and made me feel nauseous.

This was not normal, I realised. I've be drugged, or poisoned. It would be the only reason that there werenot any chakra suppressing restraints to bind me. Because they were sure that there would be no way for me to escape, though I had immunity to most poisons, it did not mean that I had immunity to all of them. And I had never had a chance to build up or study an immunity to drugs. It was the reason that the team I picked had to have a medic in it.

I carried on searching for the person I knew was in the room with me, aware that my mind drifted far too often away from the matter at hand then a ninja's mind, drugged, poisoned or not, should. That's when my sight finally fell on the other occupant of the room.

My heart sunk into my stomach and bile crawled up my throat, or maybe it was a sob. My nose started to burn and so did my eyes. My hazed mind instantly cleared some, thoughts whizzing around, trying to think of a way to get her out of here. Even though she was not the one I knew, nor was she the one I loved, she was still Sakura and still important to me.

"Sasuke." Sakura breathed out, her voice sounding sluggish and slurred. "Whaz goin' on."

"Don't worry Sakura," I said in a calm and reassuring voice even though my stomach twisted and knotted with a sinking panic. "Everything will be fine."

"Isn't that a bit presumptuous?" The voice was amused, low but sickeningly familiar too.

My suspicions were proven correct when Yakushi Kabuto walked into my line of sight. Dread filled my very core as Kabuto approached with that same calculated and measured movements that I was familiar with from before he went crazy.

He talked and talked about the plans he had for my eyes, how he was going to clone them, and embed them in his army. I let him talk, trying to mentally will the poison away. Luck, however, was not on my side. As he soon finished talking he started to prep for surgery along with two other medics, one man and a woman.

The man held a gain syringe full of a silvery white liquid which he shot through a vein in my arm. Instantly, the feeling I had gotten from the drug wearing off was now stronger then before. I felt extremely sleepy too.

"The patient is ready, doctor." The woman said after she had dragged over and set up a machine that held my head in place and kept my eyes open.

"Good. Let's begin the operation." Kabuto nodded.

I tried to blink, to fight of the drug, to move, anything. They were going to take my eyes and there was nothing I could do about it. I was completely vulnerable.

I felt myself starting to drift off, the words they were speaking were slurred and my vision was blurring, but I saw the scapel in perfect clarity, I saw it approach my eye, I saw it coming closer, then it stopped and was gone and then there was a pink blob standing in front of me where Kabuto was. Then there was a bright flash of orange light and I knew no more again.

* * *

**This chapters AU maiming is, organ harvesting. There were a few others but I liked this one the best. Also, sorry I've been missing my mums got cancer and I've been taking care of her. I'll be trying to update more though.**


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